Players from Crewe Alexandra, Oxford United, Accrington Stanley, Hull City, Peterborough United, Lincoln City and Gillingham all feature as WhoScored.com run through their 2020/21 Sky Bet League One Team of the Season...
Wednesday 12 May 2021 09:48, UK
Now that the dust has settled on the 2020/21 League One season, WhoScored.com run through their best XI of the campaign.
Crewe enjoyed a solid return to the third tier of English football, ending the campaign in 12th. They have goalkeeper Jaaskelainen to thank for a commendable campaign, ranking third for saves per 90 (three).
The first of two Oxford players to make the cut, Long got forward from defence well when needed as he had a direct involvement in 10 league goals, scoring six. Off the ball, Long performed well as he made 121 tackles and interceptions combined.
Joining Long in defence is Oxford team-mate Atkinson. Only one player earned a better WhoScored.com rating than Atkinson (7.45) in the 2020/21 League One campaign as he utilised the strength of 'ball interception' to good effect, ranking fourth for interceptions (79). In addition, Atkinson won the fourth most aerial duels (258) to nail down a spot in the side.
Partnering Atkinson at the heart of the defence is Accrington Stanley's Burgess. The 25-year-old made more tackles and interceptions combined (192) than any other player in the division and ranked fourth for total clearances (208). Burgess dominated in the air, too, winning more aerial duels (298) than any other defender.
The first of two players for League One champions Hull, Elder got forward down the left flank well over the course of the season and was duly rewarded with nine assists, that more than any other defender. Only Harry Pickering (85) made more key passes of defenders than Elder (73) in England's third tier.
League One runners-up Peterborough are the dominant side in the team of the season with Joe Ward the first of three Posh representatives. Only Aiden McGeady (14) registered more assists than Ward (13) in League One this season, those coming from 69 key passes. An additional five goals capped a fine campaign for the 25-year-old.
Peterborough's Dembele was the only player to register double figures for both goals (11) and assists (10) in League One this season as he played a pivotal role in the Posh's successful promotion campaign. The 24-year-old managed to ghost past opponents with ease as he completed at least 50 more dribbles (135) than any other player.
Linking up with Dembele in the middle of the park is Hull star Honeyman. The midfielder registered 13 assists this season, but that number should have been higher as he made more key passes (93) and created more clear-cut goalscoring chances (21) than any other player.
A key performer in Lincoln's top-six finish, Grant had a direct hand in 21 (13 goals, eight assists) of the Imps' 69 league goals this season and the latter figure would have been higher had his team-mates sported their shooting boots. Indeed, Grant ranked fifth for key passes (79) in League One this season.
Rounding off the Peterborough trio is striker Clarke-Harris. The 26-year-old made a superb impact upon his return to the Weston Homes Stadium, filling the void left by Ivan Toney following his move to Brentford. Clarke-Harris claimed the Golden Boot having hit the back of the net 31 times from 132 shots, the latter the third-best return.
With a rating of 7.47, Oliver is the WhoScored.com League One player of the season. The Gillingham frontman netted 17 times and provided an additional six assists as the Gills ended the campaign 10th. Oliver routinely exhibited a statistically calculated strength of 'aerial duels', winning more headed battles (438) than any other player and won the most man-of-the-match awards (11).
